It is mind-blowing to think about these important drowning statistics.

Did you know that drowning ranks third among all causes of unintentional injury fatalities worldwide?

World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that this accounts for 7% of all injury-related fatalities.

As they have stated,

Children, men, and anyone with greater access to water are most at danger of drowning, according to research.

In contrast, a 7-year-old kid swims a mile to save his father and sister who are submerged in a river in this news story.

When the event occurred, a family was swimming in the St. Johns River on Friday.

The St. Johns River is the longest and most significant river for both commercial and recreational purposes in Florida, United States.

While the father was out fishing, his kids were running around just beside the boat. While the boat was anchored, Chase Poust and his 4-year-old sister Abigail went swimming.

However, the current was too powerful.The 7-year-old youngster spoke with News4JAX and said,

‘My sister typically hangs out towards the back of the boat, but the current was so strong that she moved there.

And she released. I let go of the boat in order to grab her, but as soon as I did, I became stuck.

Steven Poust, their father, went into the water to save the children right away. Unlike Abigail, Chase and his father were not wearing life jackets.

Steven recounted, ‘I told them both I love them because I wasn’t sure what’s going to happen.
‘And I

made a point of remaining with her for as long as I could with them both. In truth, I exhausted myself and she slipped away from me.

While his father attempted to save his sister, Chase started swimming toward the shore. After swimming for an hour, he would float on his back to take a break.

Upon being questioned of his swimming fatigue.
The young boy said, ‘Oh yes! I did that because of that. I floated on my back as a result.’

Chase ultimately reached the shore and rang the neighbor’s doorbell to ask for assistance.
The father and his 4-year-old son were eventually saved by Florida Fish and Wildlife on a boat.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department also provided assistance with the retrieval.

The father and the 7-year-old were not required to wear life jackets, according to the JFRD.
since the boat is under 26 feet long and the 7-year-old is older than six.

Steven remarked,
We’ve arrived. We are here by God’s favor.

Chase was praised for escaping the current and being able to call for assistance to save his sister and father.

One person wrote,
What a courageous and educated young man. ‘Thank God!’

Another strategy is to teach school-aged children the fundamentals of swimming, water safety, and safe rescue techniques.

Click the video to the right to learn more about the valiant rescue!